MANILA - South Korea and the Philippines on Tuesday signed $4.9 billion (P257.2 billion) in trade and investment pledges on the sidelines of President Rodrigo Duterte's official visit to the East Asian nation, officials said.

These include one with Hyundai Motor Co, which signed a letter of intent to review plans to construct a vehicle assembly plant in the Philippines, officials said.

The investment pledges could generate some 50,000 new jobs, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a televised briefing from Seoul.

Duterte witnessed the signing of 23 business deals Tuesday before his scheduled departure for Manila.

The President told a business forum in the Korean capital that he hoped the pledges would become "actual investments."

"Your businesses are assured of protection and potential for profits," he said.

On Monday, South Korea pledged up to $1 billion in official development assistance for the Philippines' infrastructure projects.

• South Korea offers $1 billion for PH infra projects
• PH, S. Korea sign deals on technology, port project